Light rippled through the cool blue water, creating a dazzling effect on the underwater world. Arys, a white haired mermaid, swam along the reef, the sunlight glinting off of her purple and blue tail. The white dots on her fluke looked almost like pearls.
Some of the coral was broken and white, having died. Arys shook her head. The legacy of humans : destruction and decay. Fortunately one section was not completely gone yet. Placing her hand upon the coral, she closed her eyes as the healing power flowed from her heart down her arm and into her hand. The coral slowly returned to it's vibrant state, once again alive and healthy. It would shelter and feed the various creatures along the reef.
Always give. Only take what was needed. Preserve and protect. Those were the words the mermaids lived by.
Humans. Mermaids were forbidden contact with them unless searching for a new sister. Which would be soon, since Mailyn had passed on. It still hurt her heart to think of the ancient mermaid. She had been Arys' Shellan, the one who had rescued her from her dreadful life as a human and made her reborn as a creature of the sea. Arys remembered nothing from her former life and for that she was grateful to the Moon Goddess.
Humans were selfish and dangerous, her Shellan had always said. Especially the males. But any mermaid would rather deal with a male human than... the monsters...
Arys shivered despite the warmth of the water. Mermen. Ravenous bloodthirsty monsters. Selfish blackhearted beasts. They took and took and ravaged and destroyed until there was nothing left, then moved on to do the same thing again. It was a miracle that they hadn't succeeded in completely destroying the sea. Mermaids used to be as plentiful as the fish of the sea, but now thanks to having to hide from the mermen there were few left. Arys herself, in all of her years, had never seen another mermaid outside of her own pod.
Arys picked up a large conch shell and ran her hands over it idly. She couldn't shake the uneasy feeling she had. There was a disturbance in the waters, like a storm was approaching...
She'd have to warn her sisters. They would need to take shelter. Hopefully the storm would pass before the turtles hatched. Her pod needed to be there, to make sure that as many hatchlings as possible made it to the protection of the reef before moving to the open sea.
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